z/OS XL C/C++

The IBM® z/OS® XL C/C++ compiler exploits the latest z/Architecture®, including the latest IBM z13 servers. It enables development of high-performing business applications and system programs on z/OS, while maximizing hardware utilization and improving application performance. As an optional priced feature of the z/OS operating system, z/OS XL C/C++ uses services provided by the z/OS Language Environment and Runtime Library Extensions base elements. It works in concert with z/OS problem determination tools, including IBM Debug Tool for z/OS and IBM Fault Analyzer for z/OS.

IBM z/OS XL C/C++ offers:

Increased return on hardware and middleware investments for improved application performance with leading-edge optimization technology and exploitation of the latest z Systems and middleware, including CICS® and DB2®.

System programming capabilities with the METAL C option for using C syntax to develop system programs and low-level, free standing applications on z/OS that can leverage advanced optimization technology.

Improved productivity with usability features for simplified programming and problem determination, supporting modern development tools supplied by IBM.

Standards compliance with support for international C and C++ programming language standards and GNU C/C++ compatibility extensions for ease of application migration to z Systems.

Increased return on hardware and middleware investments

Provides state-of-the-art compilation technology with new hardware exploitation features, giving programmers the full advantage of advancements in hardware architecture.

Provides profile-driven optimization for application profile monitoring and profile directed feedback capabilities, minimizing the need for manual tuning while ensuring that the application is optimized for important inputs.

Simplifies the operation of C/C++ within CICS and DB2 environments with support for embedded CICS and SQL statements in C/C++ source that are passed through without the need for a preprocessing step.

System programming capabilities

Provides a METAL C option to support system program development on z/OS.

Offers information consumable by standard symbolic debugging tools, including IBM Debug Tool for z/OS and dbx, enabling you to examine, monitor and control the execution of C and C++ programs.

Supports UNIX System Services (USS) on z/OS, including use of the z/OS UNIX Hierarchical File System (HFS) for storage of compiler source and output and the z/OS UNIX Shell and Utilities feature.

Integrates with IBM Rational® Developer for System z, an integrated development environment with advanced, easy-to-use tools, to help accelerate development, facilitate runtime testing, and rapidly deploy applications.

This online café community provides in-depth information to help you take full advantage of IBM C/C++ compiler products. Blogs and online forums facilitate conversations in the spirit of fostering community and collaboration.

For your convenience, the tabs below identify the supported releases of z/OS XL C/C++ from which you can select detailed system requirement reports for different contexts (by Operating System, by component). Note that clicking a link will always generate a new, up-to-date report.

Offers vector programming support so programmers can take advantage of the Vector Facility for z/Architecture.

Usability and performance enhancements

Inline assembler statements support allow you to insert assembler statements inlined with XL C and XL C++ code without compiling with Metal C.

With runtime architecture blocks, you can use a single source file with sections designed to take advantage of various hardware architecture levels, and select the appropriate path to be run at execution time.

New compiler options and suboptions are provided for programming flexibility.

Support for high-performance mathematical computing libraries

The Mathematical Acceleration Subsystem (MASS) library can be used for accelerated execution of elementary math functions and serve as a higher performance alternative to the standard math library that is part of the z/OS XL C/C++ Runtime.

These two libraries provide a powerful framework for development of new Business Analytics workloads, porting math-intensive workloads from other platforms, and accelerating Business Analytics workloads on z13.